Trouble sleeping? Get the Beauty Rest You Need Tonight!

 

We all know that the average person needs about 8 hours of sleep each night to be fully mentally and physically prepared for the remaining 16 hours we endure. The average American only gets about 6 hours of sleep a night, which leaves many of us groggy in the morning and sluggish for the rest of the day. A good sleep cycle not only been scientifically proven to leave us at the peak of mental capability but has positive effects on weight loss, clearer skin, and overall energy.

 

But falling asleep is no easy task for many of us. These simple tips can get you catching Z’s in no time at all. Don’t let Mr. Sandman skip your house anymore, get your PJs on, and SLEEP!

 

 

 

It seems almost a given, but many of us who have problems going to bed like to watch late night television or social network throughout the day. There’s nothing wrong with watching your favorite program or chatting with other web surfers about last night’s Walking Dead episode but often once the show or conversation has ended we have the habit of keeping the boob-tube on or continuously read articles of web crap, which leave us in an endless cycle of channel flipping or web surfing, all the while leaving us wondering why we can’t sleep. Make the commitment to turn off the television and facebook.

 

 

Did you know that complete silence makes it even harder to fall asleep? There are different techniques, devices, and videos that have been created to help you fall into slumber. You may think that noise will have a negative effect on falling asleep, but science shows that calming noises will help you fall asleep quickly. After all, when we were in the womb, we had the sounds of our mother’s heart beat and breathing, leaving us with a nice repetitive and calming noise that gave us the best sleep of our lives, nine months to be exact.

 

Scientists have recommended a steady flow of natural sounds and/or a repetitive hum to help us get drowsy. From the sounds of a rain forest, the wind blowing the trees, the ocean waves crashing, to a soft white noise, like when a bathroom fan is on, or when a television can’t find a station.

 

A tip we recommend: Put on your earbuds and search for calming sleep music or guided meditations on YouTube. Thousands of videos are uploaded and have continuous noises extending way beyond 8 hours, leaving you with plenty of resources to help you find the right sound for you.

 

An example of a binaural beat (works best with headphones):

 

 

 

Many of us think that a nice big meal right before bed will help us. After all, how many of us passed out after a large Thanksgiving meal? But science has shown us that a large meal right before bed leaves us tossing and turning through the night? Why? Nightmares. That’s right, eating right before bed may put us to sleep, but not in a healthy-calm way. Nightmares often leave you moving, even waking up in the middle night (which many don’t remember that they woke up in the middle of the night) and overall just interfering with a full sleep cycle. It is also recommended to cut out sweets and caffeine 4 hours before bed time!

 

 

Our bodies are designed so that when we eat, we are giving our body nutrients to have energy for the next few hours. However, the bulk of us work a typical office job with little to no activity. This results in our bodies in desire for an energy burn. Science shows that working out for at least 30 minutes extra a day burns off enough energy to help sleep for hours on end!

 

 

Things that keep us awake at night often just boil down to the little thoughts we have about the humdrums of everyday life. Will I get that promotion? Does “X” like me? Did I pay the electric bill? Little thoughts like that have us worry at night, all night long. Anxiety is known to keep you awake at night. But don’t sweat it! After all, is this really something important enough to keep you awake all night? Short answer, it’s not.

 

Clearing your head of all your thoughts may seem like a hard task. But with a proper mindset in place, anyone can really tune out all the bad and have you asleep in no time. As we stated earlier in the article, turn off the electronics! Turn off the lights. Get off the couch and lay in bed. Get comfortable. Close your eyes. Don’t think about what you need to accomplish, or something that is completely out of your control. If you need some sort of stimulation, again, YouTube is full of guided meditations and white noise sounds to help your brain tune out all thoughts. Try not thinking about things, and in no time at all, you will be in dream world!